ASSESSMENTS

What's Really at Stake in the Turkish Elections

Jun 8, 2018 | 20:02 GMT

A paper ballot includes portraits of the candidates in Turkey's upcoming presidential election, scheduled for June 24. Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a lot riding on the vote, which could make him the most powerful leader in Turkey's modern history.

(YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

The winner of Turkey's presidential election, the first round of which is slated for June 24, will become the most powerful ruler in the modern republic's history, thanks to constitutional amendments approved in a referendum last year.
Though incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party devised the reforms with his next term in mind, economic instability and an unusually united array of diverse opposition candidates could jeopardize his re-election bid.
No matter who wins the race, Turkey will face the same security imperatives — and the same problems in its relationships with allies such as the European Union and the United States.
A victory for Erdogan and the AKP, however, will further aggravate those problems.

Turkish voters are about to elect the most powerful leader in their country's modern history. They will head to the polls June 24, nearly a year and a half ahead of schedule, for the first time since passing a raft of constitutional amendments last year to expand the powers of the presidency. At the same time, they will cast their ballots for lawmakers to fill a newly enlarged parliament. For incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- who, along with his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), engineered the constitutional revisions -- the stakes of the upcoming vote are high. If he wins, he will assume the virtually unchecked authority of the new executive presidency, which he could command for the next decade. If, on the other hand, Turkey's economic problems and the diverse field of opposition candidates in the race turn enough voters from Erdogan's side, one of his opponents could...

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